Fastest in practice was current leader of the BRSCC touring car championship Roy Pierpoint in his bright red Mustang, with Sir Gawaine Baillie's similar car second and the works Lotus Cortinas of Mike Spence and Jack Sears next up.

As soon as the full field set off, it was obvious that this was going to be a tough contest. Saloon car drivers appear to do impossible manoeuvres all round the course, but each one gets away with it.

As to be expected, Pierpoint set the pace, with Baillie coming through to second place at the four lap mark ahead of the Lotus Cortinas of Sears and Spence. The battles in the 1000 cc and 1300 cc classes were tremendous: Warwick Banks and Mike Cambell-Cole disputed the smaller category splendidly, never being more than a door handle apart, while Tony Lanfranchi in the Alexander entry was battling out the 1300 cc class with John Fitzpatrick's Broadspeed Mini. Lanfranchi was really enjoying himself to be an all-round driver.
With the 12 hectic laps up, Pierpoint headed Baillie home by 5.8 seconds, with Sears some 15.4 seconds farther in arrears. Spence was next up, then Frank Gardner in the Willment lotus Cortina and Tom Fletcher in the well-driven Coundley-entered Lotus Cortina. The Mini battle looked like going to Fitzpatrick, but Lanfranchi went round on the outside at Woodcote at an alarming pace to pip him by a wheel. Banks, too, out-fumbled Campbell-Cole for leadership among the 1-litre category, in which John Anstead's little Fiat Abarth went very quickly to take third place.